Capturing Tacit Knowledge In Squh Free-Samples for Students

According to Caimo & Lomi (2015), knowledge is a vital aspect of an organizational resource as it aids in the provision of a viable competitive advantage in a diverse and competitive market. Knowledge can be understood and defined in various way. For instance, Lehrer defines knowledge as what we know and understanding of what is false. Similarly, Wang and Hou, (2015), states that knowledge is processed information that entails ideas, facts, experience, and judgment relevant for a person, group, and organizational outcome. Therefore, for organizations to enhance dominance in the market, Caimo & Lomi (2015) reiterates that it’s essential for firms to depend on staffing and training methods that emphasize on the acquisition of workers that have particular knowledge, abilities, or capabilities or assisting employees to obtain them. Hence, the institute must put into consideration various ways to transfer knowledge from specialists that have the experience to trainees that needs it . As such, most organizations employ innovations in the management of this information and enhanced storage manner. However, the technological ways are not able to protect informational materials found in a person’s mind that have been stored for some years of studies, abilities, and experience. Notably, Srinivas (2016) identifies that there are two types of knowledge: explicit and tacit knowledge with the latter being expressed in books and speeches while tacit resides in mind and characters of an individual. According to Joe, Yoong, & Patel (2013) affirms that like other health centers and organizations, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital (SQUH) experience loss of knowledge due to a significant portion of its older experts leaving the facility due to retirement. Therefore, this paper explores knowledge capturing process in SQUH, the value of knowledge exchange, challenges and opportunities of tacit knowledge, and various methods of capturing tacit knowledge in SQUH. According to Sherwood (2013, p. 16), knowledge acquisition is in various methods, and executives and managers understand the importance of knowledge in the success of an organization. Knowledge management provides a vital factor when struggling in the competitive market since most clients visit facilities that they perceive to have skilled experts. Based on Srinivas (2016) studies, knowledge comes in two forms: explicit and tacit. Explicit Knowledge can be easily transferred from an individual to a given populace through the web, speech, and books while tacit is hard to transfer since it resides in peoples' mind and characters. Therefore, most organizations including SQUH employs an explicit form of knowledge management since individual’s knowledge in an institution can be expressed and made clear. Also, the health facility management believes that the approach can be incorporated to assist staffs in sharing information they entail to develop knowledge assets. The integration of information management systems within the Institute plays a significant role in enhancing the spread of explicit material assets over the hospital’s intranet, thus, helps in efficient patient management. Additionally, the hospital employs experiments and various factors of structured processes that are developed to remedy the lack of information that it essential to the health center. According to Caimo & Lomi, (2015), knowledge is one of the constant rising organizational assets such as management systems, brand identity, client information, and institutional character. It’s an important virtue in humans as it indicates grouped expertise and efforts of connections and associations. Most of the duties performed by workers are usually knowledge based, thus, a critical driver to corporates success. As such, the importance of knowledge is observed when it entails core functions and focuses on mission, fundamental values, and strategic significances. Therefore, in case the hospital reorganizes or changes its culture of knowledge management, Caimo & Lomi (2015) claims that valuable knowledge will diminish since staffs that leave the facility move with their valuable information, resources, abilities, and experience. Those that are employed or stays can be given new tasks and never incorporate their wealth of stored knowledge. Since the organization integrates both tacit and explicit knowledge systems, employees practice various perspectives to find a solution to a given problem. Hence, they share information and teams physical and intellectual possessions in current and creative styles. This allows the hospital management to exploit and utilize on knowledge-based activities, thus, aids in minimizing the cost of production, enhanced completion of creation of new merchandise, group activities, innovation capabilities and income generation. Based on Nesheim & Gressgà ¥rd, (2014) research on knowledge management, provision of relevan t materials at the time of necessity by use of structure, search, syndication, and support knowledge exchange, provides room for developing good decisions. According to Chen, Lin, & Yen (2014) teamwork promotes different opinions, and diverse experiences during the decision-making process, hence, enables decisions to be created on genuine understanding. Conspicuously, it facilitates smooth and timely completion of responsibilities such as finding a solution to a problem, analyzing markets, benchmarking against co-workers, and understanding competition. Chen, Lin, & Yen (2014) articulates that active and efficient knowledge management process enhance reuse of already developed information that eventually helps to reduce rework, avoid problems, saves time, and hasten progress. Sharing of knowledge among the employees as well aids in avoiding redundancy at work, therefore, saves money and streamline events. Remarkably, transfer of knowledge between personnel helps in preventing similar mistakes in the future, and this is usually accelerated by a culture of trust and openness within the workers. Also, Chen, Lin, & Yen (2014) argues that knowledge gained from a fellow employee assist an individual to learn from their experience and use it to their advantage in the management of patients and to perform other tasks. Moreover, enhancing the exchange of knowledge within the facility limits skill gaps since new staffs such as students in the internship, attachment, and recruited employees can quickly acquire the talents. When workers share thoughts and resources among themselves there is a feeling of a common objective being pursued, thus, boosts interest and strengthens every individual to exchange knowledge. According to Wang & Hou, (2015) knowledge helps employees to acquire more than they lose through sharing since the transfer of information is a synergistic method, hence, build one's morale when performing a given role. Knowledge exchange also enables provision of skills and abilities that are in demand due to their short supply in organizations mainly through the formation of discussion forums, training workshops, and ask the expert approach. For instance Wang & Hou, (2015) states that material sharing, reuse, and inventions can primarily minimize the time required to provide services to clients, thus, provides a competitive advantage to the hospital. With recent developments in the health sector such as the invention of Trakcare technology to enhance efficient patient management in SQUH, most of its staffs acquire skills and knowledge concerning their domain, competitive space, and customer requirements. As the ability to operate the machine develops, it becomes more significant for the organization to protect, nurture, and utilize recognized operators of the technique. According to Bessick & Naicker (2013) this is usually gained by employees that are not willing to document or share obtained expertise. Just like institutions that don't consider dissemination of information, workers frequently become the primary owner of the knowledge, thus, making the knowledge extinct in case the person retires or leaves the organization. According to Bessick & Naicker (2013), to store knowledge, management must target four areas to ensure knowledge dissemination and efficient application through teamwork. This includes governance role, staff activities, accepting operation occupation to develop, recreate, organize, and transmit knowledge properties. Drucker (as cited by Bessick and Naicker, 2013) states that for knowledge process to be significant, captured, and determined, it must pass through three levels. These entails utility of creative knowledge, consideration of knowledge workers as a valuable asset to an organization, and incorporation of formal educative programs to enable staffs to apply their ability both theoretically and analytically. Therefore, the following are barriers that occur in SQUH that deters acquisition of tacit knowledge among its employees. Br?i? & Miheli? (2015), asserts that age affects the transfer of tacit knowledge as some staffs consider themselves to be superior to their counterparts. This is because each generation is subjective to numerous factors that form a respective value system distinguishing them from individuals that grew at various times. For instance, students on internship find it difficult to relate with their seniors due to age difference, and this systematically leads to lack of appropriate knowledge transfer. Conversantly, gender also impact acquisition of this knowledge as some employees don’t easily interact with workers of opposite sex. SQUH incorporates several staffs such as nurses, doctors, administrator, human resource officer, and casuals. This entails that different employees have various ranks according to their level of education. However, most important are the doctors and nurses as they are entitled to patients that are major clients of the facility. Hence, Chuang, Jackson, & Jiang (2016) postulate that different level of study between nurses and physicians prevent smooth interaction and consultation, thus, minimizes the opportunity of attaining tacit knowledge. For instance, doctors might perceive their interaction with nurses to be diminishing their profession, therefore, relate easily with other specialists. Additionally, Br?i? & Miheli? (2015) reiterates that inadequacy of trust and failure embrace possession of intellectual stuff by various employees, thus, diminishes the ability of one to transfer tacit knowledge to the other. Based on Chuang, Jackson, & Jiang (2016) studies that poor managerial and leadership style in an organization that can’t integrate current information management systems also aids in deterring transmission of this knowledge from an individual. Moreover, leadership that fails to develop policies that are focused on knowledge retention enhance loss of informational materials from the experts. Lack of incorporation and compatibility of information technology structures and process leads to loss of tacit knowledge among the employees in SQUH. As such there is lack of technical support and communication between staffs at different departments, hence, leading to retention of knowledge by presumed experts. Likewise, the administration doesn’t demonstrate the importance of new techniques in inclination to the existing ones, thus, contributes to a reduction in knowledge sharing. Tong, Tak, & Wong (2015) articulates that knowledge creation in a firm entails making accessible and strengthening information that is made by entities as well as forming and integrating it into a facility’s knowledge structure. The major contributors to knowledge development grounds on numerous studies of information making in innovative Japanese Enterprises that eventually confirmed that knowledge creation bases on four models of knowledge exchange. The knowledge development involves Socialization, Externalization, Combination, and Internalization that is commonly known as SECI model. Significantly, Easa, 2012 claims that achievement of most Japanese Companies relied on their capability to generate innovative organizational knowledge centered on a cyclic model of endless interactions and conversion of tacit and explicit materials on three stages: individuals, groups, and institute. Globally, the framework has become widely recognized by scholars in categorizing, constructing, documenting, sharing, and exchanging knowledge from a Knowledge Management perception. The figure below indicate the four channels of SECI model. According to Easa (2012) the method transforms tacit knowledge to new tacit information by enhancing exchange of experience, skills, and opinions and majorly it occurs through social and cultural activities organized by organization such as team building. Typically it takes place in a traditional form other than through documented manuals or books. Additionally, it can occur during informal social gatherings outside the institute in which tacit knowledge like worldviews, mental models, and friendship is developed and shared. Also, it can be drawn up beyond hospital’s boundaries such as interaction with clients and suppliers. Easa (2012) states that this technique changes tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge that occurs when the organization attributes its inside rules of happenings formally or when it openly sets their goals that quickly captures through writing or computerization. Therefore, by converting tacit knowledge to explicit, it enables easy sharing, hence, becomes the significant source of new information. As such, capturing of tacit knowledge is eased since the experienced staff can easily put the tacit knowledge into writings that can be read by other members. The process articulates explicit knowledge into various systematic groups of explicit knowledge. Easa (2012) reiterates that explicit information is derived either from inside or outside the facility then fused, edited or managed to create new insights. Combination involves changing of explicit knowledge into more detailed and logical sets of clear understanding. The developed knowledge is then shared among various employees, and it can be facilitated by creative incorporation of online communication systems and databases. For instance, when the hospital’s auditor gathers data from different departments and assembles them in a context to create a financial report, the report is regarded as a new knowledge since it integrates information from various sources in a single context. Easa (2012) indicates that the process transfers explicit knowledge to tacit knowledge indicating that explicit knowledge is internalized to obtain tacit knowledge. By internalizing, any development of explicit knowledge is exchanged between staffs and transformed into tacit informative materials through individuals. Internalization is almost similar to learning by performing, for instance, creation of training programs can assist trainees to apprehend the institution or reading documented manuals concerning their job descriptions can help them internalize explicit knowledge contained in such files to enhance their tacit knowledge. Similarly, the acquired tacit knowledge at personal level can then enable a new set of knowledge making when it’s exchanged between personnel by socialization method. Tounkara (2015) argues that knowledge sharing is a major challenge for many organizations and significantly those that bases their approach on knowledge codification through employing knowledge engineering means. Most of these institutes experience a significant problem as their knowledge repository is used by few individuals. Since tacit knowledge is that information found in a person’s mind and attributes that is unique and once possessed can be a greater boost to a company’s achievement. However, the knowledge is significantly individualized and difficult to formalize, hence, hard to communicate to other populace. For example, Tounkara (2015) identifies that tacit knowledge occurs in two scopes: technical dimension that entails the â€Å"know-how,† and cognitive aspect that encompasses beliefs, ideas, and values that most are taken for granted. Therefore, tacit knowledge is a non-codified know-how that is obtained through informal take-up of educated traits and procedures. However, tacit knowledge is still a new domain that is not known by several managers, thus, depends on their natural ability to enhance correct decisions making process. As such, institutions that seek to propel their competitive advantage in the market has to integrate environment that enables employees to verbalize their tacit materials. General staffs, therefore, needs to exploit their addition to the group of ideas that facilitates a competitive edge to the facility. In SQUH different strategies are used to capture tacit knowledge among various experts that are seen to be viable for success of the firm. Harmaala (2014) argues that face-to-face interaction among colleagues in the hospital has been observed as the primary channel for sharing tacit knowledge with the most common model being expert-novice model. Quietly, it’s always believed that the new recruits, novice employees learns from their senior specialist, but the advantages occur when both are involved in sharing their ideas and opinions. Nevertheless, to support success of the model persons are required to develop trust and motivation among themselves. Moreover, Harmaala (2014) claims that individual system is also considered as a way of capturing tacit knowledge from workers. This is enhanced through cycling of tasks in which staffs performing similar roles can exchange their work, thus, enables personnel to discuss their capability and ideas together after the transfer duration. Similarly, based on Harmaala (2014) incorporation of teamwork through pairing of staffs when performing their roles enhance sharing of ideas, skills, views, and experiences. Therefore, new updated operational styles are developed, and the tacit knowledge is retained within the hospital. A common method of capturing tacit knowledge in the institution via pair work include mentoring and expert-novice. The university hospital has majored mostly on mentoring as a technique since the experienced personnel provides advice, guidance, and support for the newly recruited staffs. The method focuses on individuals own objectives and professional growth that is opposed to organization’s stated goals. Additionally, through mentorship one is able to acquire various skills and ideas that are shown by the senior employee, thus, helps in smooth transfer of the knowledge. Significantly, integration of teamwork by management as a means of apprehending tacit knowledge has helped in retaining significant information from experienced personnel. However, Harmaala (2014) claims that the approach is useful when participants are of different age brackets and different experience. Usually, every attendant must co-operate, hence, share ideas and thoughts. As such, it provides deeper exploration of solutions to a problem as it involves diverse views from individuals that are facilitated through communication, knowledge transfer, and questions to obtain best results. According to Harmaala (2014) the system of externalization that entails exchange of tacit information to explicit knowledge has been incorporated in the workforce mainly by interviewing individuals and documenting their knowledge. However, the technique provides a challenge since it’s hard to include expressions, emotions, and actions in a text manner. This leads to loss of various amount of educational materials and knowledge that can be useful to the organization.    Knowledge is a primary factor that needs consideration by managers when making company’s decision to enhance success of an organization. Knowledge is of two dimensions: explicit and tacit in which the latter can be acquired through books and print media while the second resides in people's mind and characters. However, technology can’t transform this knowledge found in individuals mind to other populace, hence, the need to develop various techniques to enable its sharing. Various methods have been integrated into SQUH to help in acquisition of this knowledge such as through encouraging socialization, internalization, combination, and externalization commonly known as SECI model. Additionally, the hospital has developed different ways of capturing this knowledge by incorporating mechanisms like encouraging face-to-face interactions, teamwork, and mentorship among employees. Conversely, the institution faces numerous hindrance in integrating this knowledge. Some of the ba rriers include difference in educational levels of the staffs that prevent dynamic interactions, sex and age of personnel also inhibit sharing of tacit information, and technology adoption among workers. Therefore, to facilitate exchange of this knowledge, SQUH needs to incorporate different mechanism such as encouraging more outdoor socialization that certainly improves knowledge sharing Bessick, J. and Naicker, V., 2013. Barriers to tacit knowledge retention: an understanding of the perceptions of the knowledge management of people inside and outside the organisation: original research. South African Journal of Information Management, 15(2), pp.1-8. Br?i?, Ã… ½.J. and Miheli?, K.K., 2015. Knowledge sharing between different generations of employees: an example from Slovenia. Economic Research-Ekonomska IstraÃ… ¾ivanja, 28(1), pp.853-867. Caimo, A. and Lomi, A., 2015. Knowledge sharing in organizations: A Bayesian analysis of the role of reciprocity and formal structure.  Journal of Management,  41(2), pp.665-691. Chen, Y.H., Lin, T.P. and Yen, D.C., 2014. How to facilitate inter-organizational knowledge sharing: The impact of trust. Information & Management, 51(5), pp.568-578. Chuang, C.H., Jackson, S.E. and Jiang, Y., 2016. Can knowledge-intensive teamwork be managed? Examining the roles of HRM systems, leadership, and tacit knowledge. Journal of management, 42(2), pp.524-554. Easa, N., 2012. Knowledge creation process & Innovation in Egyptian Banking Sector. In Organization Learning, Knowledge and Capabilities Conference. Harmaala, M., 2014. The Tacit Power: Case study: Maintpartner. Joe, C., Yoong, P. and Patel, K., 2013. Knowledge loss when older experts leave knowledge-intensive organisations.  Journal of Knowledge Management,  17(6), pp.913-927. Lehrer, K., 2015.  Theory of knowledge. Routledge Nesheim, T. and Gressgà ¥rd, L.J., 2014. Knowledge sharing in a complex organization: Antecedents and safety effects. Safety science, 62, pp.28-36. Sherwood, W.R., 2013.  A case study: Barriers preventing the capture of tacit knowledge in small manufacturing companies  (Doctoral dissertation, Baker College (Michigan)). Srinivas, S.A.S., 2016. Driving Knowledge Sharing Initiatives for Enhanced Collaboration in Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) Libraries–A Case Study.  Electronic Journal of Knowledge Management,  14(1). Tong, C., Tak, W.I.W. and Wong, A., 2015. The Impact of knowledge sharing on the relationship between organizational culture and Job satisfaction: The perception of information communication and technology (ICT) practitioners in Hong Kong. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 5(1), p.19. Tounkara, T., 2015. Increasing transferability of tacit knowledge with knowledge engineering methods. Leading Issues in Knowledge Management, Volume Two, 2, p.114. Wang, W.T. and Hou, Y.P., 2015. Motivations of employees’ knowledge sharing behaviors: A self-determination perspective. Information and Organization, 25(1), pp.1-26.